The Future of Catholic Higher Education

The Future of Catholic Higher Education advances a vision of the Catholic University that is neither a "closed circle" of only Catholics nor a "market place of ideas with no distinctive mission" but rather an "open circle," one that fosters the Catholic intellectual tradition by including scholars of many religions, rooting Catholic social thought in Catholic doctrine, defending academic freedom and the mandatum. Drawing upon his extensive experience, James Heft lays out the current state of Catholic Higher Education and what needs to be done to ensure that Catholicism isn't phased out of the educational system. Heft analyzes the foundational intellectual principles of Catholic Higher Education, and both the strengths and weaknesses of the present day system in order to look at possibilities for its future.